Roberts breaks silence on racial debate

Reading striker Jason Roberts has spoken out about his recent racism campaign boycott, saying the PFA are deliberately ignoring the growing racism row.

The 34-year raised questions about his stance on the racial issue by refusing to wear the 'Kick it out' racism campaign shirt in the warm-up against Liverpool last week. However, despite previously refusing to express his views on the matter, the Grenadian international has spoken about how the Players Footballers' Association is turning a blind eye to the current issues of racism.

Speaking to The Independent about the matter, Roberts said: 'This isn't about Suarez or Terry. The response to those incidents from Kick it Out and the PFA was certainly soft and players felt that their representatives had let them down. Players were looking for them to come forward and lead the conversation and they were slow.'

'But that reflected the wider problem about complacency in the way that representation is being dealt with. That is the point we have been trying to make for the last year. The last generation suffered from monkey chants and we have to move it forward from simply being happy that we no longer get that. I'm not just happy to be here where we are.'

You can read the rest of the article and the interview here on The Independent website, where Roberts also talks about the absence of black coaches in the game at the moment.